Ps 53: The Lord upholds my life.
O God, save me by your name; by your power, uphold my cause.
O God, hear my prayer; listen to the words of my mouth.
The Lord upholds my life.
For proud men have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life.
They have no regard for God. They have no regard for God.
The Lord upholds my life.
But I have God for my help. The Lord upholds my life.
I will sacrifice to you with willing heart and praise your name for it is good.
The Lord upholds my life.
Words (c) Th Grail, England. Music (c) Gerry Fitzpatrick. Graphic (c) Netta Ewing.
Psalm 53 Commentary. by Dr Noel Donnelly
We use 7 of the 9 verses of psalm 53 in our liturgy this weekend, missing out the final verses about the promise of any future sacrificial offering. The biblical text at the head of this psalm gives four things: the author’s name, David; the tune to be used, “Mahalat”; the form of the psalm as a “Maskil”, which is the style to be used in performing the psalm, often interpreted as “a contemplative way of delivery”; instruction is given to “The Choirmaster” to ensure that this is done. A lot is piled into this often unnoticed heading!
It’s a very urgent heartfelt prayer: four times in the first stanza does the singer insist: “save me! Uphold me! Hear my prayer! It’s my personal mouth that is calling you here!”
The singer wants to be saved by the unpronounceable sacred name of God. In the bible, the giving of a name is a serious matter: the name Adam, the Earthling, is named derived from the word for earth or soil, “adamah”. Jacob is renamed Israel; in Hebrew, Is-ra-El, means “the man who saw God”, after wresting with him. But the Divine Name, “I am Who I Am!” is pure personal being, indescribable in human terms.
Our incarnate saving Lord took the name Jesus which means “Saviour”; it’s a “name above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil.2.2-10).
Jesus , as we know gave a new name, Cephas or Rock, to Peter when he called him. Many of us were given a new name when we were first anointed in Baptism, and again at our Confirmation.
Psalm 53 us used in our liturgy to follow the first reading from the Book of Wisdom as the godless try to win in a struggle against any virtuous person. The response. “The Lord upholds my life!” is full of hope. The theme of trust in times of struggle extends to the Gospel where Jesus gives his encouraging instruction to the fearful disciples about his approaching death and resurrection.
The taunts against our faith, mentioned in the first reading and the Gospel, may still attack us today, vocally or even in silent glances. Hopefully our response, “The Lord upholds my life!” will keep ringing on through everything. Ecumenical gatherings like the recent @one for Creation Sunday, can often lift up our spirits!
